Hello everybody!!! WET-BOTTOMED KIT >From: "Scarlett A. Gray" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Help-Wet Bottomed Kit >I have a 15 week old kit that seems to have a urinary track/bladder >infection. She has had this infection since she was about 8 weeks old. Well, as the owner of a wonderfully incontinent sprite, named Angel, I can certainly empathize with your problem. Angel's problem turned out to be ectopic ureters that completely bypass her bladder and cannot be cured. However, that's not to say that your little gal has the same problem. When my vet and I initially tried to solve her suspected UTI and the antibiotic therapy did not work, we ran a urine culture to determine exactly what bacteria might be causing the problem and what antibiotic would be best. I am not a vet, but IMHO, that would be a good starting point. If that fails to show anything, or the appropriate antibiotic does not work, then you might want to consider exploratory surgery(especially since she needs to be spayed, anyway), or a Urogram Contrast Study. I suppose hormones could contribute, but I've been under the impression that incontinence would be from a lack of hormones, as we did also try to treat Angel with small amounts of DES. After several months of trial and error, exploratory surgery, urine cultures, urograms, and removal of one kidney(the consulting vets at AMC in NY felt that only one ureter was ectopic and this would easily solve the problem), and a second urogram that showed that the remaining ureter was also ectopic(after the surgery failed to produce any change), I have come to the conclusion that some urinary tract problems in ferrets are not easily diagnosed and/or treated. I hope that what you are dealing with is only a more resistant microorganism and that a new course of antibiotic therapy will do the trick. As far as the diaper rash goes....wash her bottom once or twice a day with baby shampoo, dry her off really well, and apply a Neosporin type of ointment to the area. This really helped Angel. I also change her bedding twice a day to cut down on the smell and dampness, and wipe her bottom off A LOT(I remembered to put the space in that word!<GGG>) when she's out of the cage. If you'd like to read more about my little Angel and her problem, use the FML search engine at Ferret World and type in "Angel" or "Dodie". The dates are between June of 1996 and September of 1996. I hope this info helps. I found Dr. Dutton and Dr. Williams to be invaluable resources in my time of need. You may want to e-mail them directly, since they are VERY busy people. Good luck! Dodie Newcomb and the Fabulously Funny Five Gidget, Molly, Teddy, Fozzie, and Angel(aka Betsy Wetsy) [Posted in FML issue 1745]